Walk in Grace

When storm clouds form and roses fade
He walks with me in twilight glade
Where valleys cast in somber shade
Remind me after Him I'm made.
Enraptured by lazy lagoon we dip and wade,
Spirit surrounds in rushing cascade.
Together we drink in mystical everglade
While misery we wisely evade.
Stars above sing their sweet serenade,
Wind whistles through grassy blade.
Then I embrace my life's crusade
In a spirit far more staid
To rise above the past's charade -
Oh how His grace does persuade!

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Editor’s Note

The number one question our editors receive is—what do the editors and judges look for when judging the contest? The number one answer we give is creativity. Unlike prose, writing composed in everyday language, poetry is considered a creative art and requires a different type of effort and a certain level of depth. Of the thousands of poems entered in each contest, the ones that catch our judges’ eyes are the ones that remove us, even just slightly, from the scope of everyday life by using language that is interesting, specific, vivid, obscure, compelling, figurative, and so on. Oftentimes, poems are pulled aside for a second look based simply on certain words that intrigued the reader. So first and foremost, be sure your poetry is written using creative language. Take general ideas and make them personal. In his infamous book De/Compositions: 101 Good Poems Gone Wrong, W. D. Snodgrass imparts, “We cannot honestly discuss or represent our lives, any more than our poems, without using ideational language.”